


My Hat

by Baroness_Blixen



Category: The X-Files
Genre: Baby Fic, F/M, Family Fluff, fandom collaboration, mulder baby 2.0
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-04-20
Updated: 2018-04-20
Packaged: 2019-04-25 15:08:04
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,640
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14381232
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Baroness_Blixen/pseuds/Baroness_Blixen
Summary: Mulder and Scully take their daughter to have her photo taken. What could possibly go wrong?





	My Hat

**Author's Note:**

> This is a collaboration with @allyinthekeyofx. Find her amazing artwork that goes with this fic here: https://allyinthekeyofx.tumblr.com/post/172863409656/now-that-baronessblixen-has-posted-her-beautiful

Today’s the day. The date’s been set for months. Scully has been looking forward to it since she’s made the call, since the appointment has been confirmed. A professional studio portrait of their daughter. Her own enthusiasm for the photo session has been met with two almost identical nose crinkles by Mulder and Iris-Grace. But Scully was certain she could turn those into smiles in the following months. 

Today is the day and…

“Can you take off your hat for one moment, sweetie?” Scully’s knees hurt. She’s been crouching in front of her daughter for the last five minutes. The girl’s blue eyes sparkle with defiance. There’s no way she’s taking off the hat.

“My hat.” She says.

“Yes, it’s your hat. I just want to-” If she only mentions straightening her hair, the girl is only going to shake her head no. Her fine hair curls messily over her shoulder, frame her round baby face and give her a sense of boldness. Scully has to smile in spite of the situation and takes a strand of it between her fingers, marveling at the softness. They’re going to have to cut it soon. Another small battle to fight.

“We should get going,” Mulder opens the car door and throws Scully a look; it’s a we’ll deal with it later look. It’s one she’s come to know well. “We don’t want to be late.” She nods, admits her defeat. Instead of taking the hat off her daughter’s head, she straightens it and Iris-Grace grins. She is as proud of the hat as Scully is frustrated with it. She helps the girl into the car seat and secures her. Her daughter sits still, takes one of the hat’s braided cords into her mouth and chews on it absent-mindedly. Scully gently takes it out from in between her teeth. The girl pouts.

Scully sighs as she rounds the car to get into the passenger seat. Mulder smiles at her and she’s thankful for his mere presence. He doesn’t think they need professional photos. Just take a snapshot and send it around, Scully – those were his exact words. He’s right; she knows it. They have several albums full of their daughter smiling, laughing, falling down and committing all kinds of mischief. They’re all perfect; just like Iris-Grace herself. But it’s a Scully family tradition. She herself had her picture taken at three years old, just like Bill, Melissa and Charlie. There’s no picture of William – Jackson, now – at three years. She’s not going to let another opportunity pass by. 

The ‘Simply Baby’ photo studio has a colorful storefront that mesmerizes their daughter. She turns to them with her hands pressed to the glass, grinning.

“Beautiful!” She says. Her hat falls into her eyes and she grumbles.

“Do you want to take the hat off?” Mulder asks carefully giving Scully a side glance. Iris-Grace adjusts the hat and stares up at him with big eyes.

“No. My hat.” That’s that. With certain footsteps she walks towards the open door.

“I hate that hat, Mulder.” He chuckles and nods; it’s almost an apology. Mulder puts his hand on the small of her back and together they follow their daughter. As they enter, the girl is already the center of attention with three of the photographers admiring her and her headgear.

“Is the hat going to stay on for the photoshoot?” One of the young women asks and looks at Mulder and Scully. Mulder grins; Scully feels it rather than she sees it. Her own face must reflect her surprise as the photographer blushes.

“We were thinking without the hat.” Mulder answers and Scully chances a look at Iris-Grace. It is obvious that that’s not what she wants. 

“I’m just getting everything ready. Joyce? Tina? Come on.” The photographers leave for the adjoining room that’s already covered in lighting equipment. Scully takes a deep breath and gets down to her daughter’s level. Here they go again. Mulder joins her, his knees squeaking loudly as he crouches.

“Hey, baby.” Scully says.

“My hat.” Her fingers close around the long plaits, holding on.

“I know you love your hat, baby. But how about you take it off? Just for one photo? It won’t take long.” The girl sticks out her tongue; a clear sign that she’s thinking. She looks at Mulder, who smiles encouragingly.

“Wanna wear my hat.” Iris-Grace says with finality and next to her, Scully just hears it in the way his breathing changes, Mulder stifles a laugh.

“You’ve got such beautiful hair, baby.” Scully tries again. Her daughter shakes her head so energetically that the cords fly about and hit her in the face. “Iris-Grace…” The girl sighs as if she were carrying the weight of the whole world on her tiny shoulders. Scully is the only one who calls her that. She’s Iris to most, Iri to Jackson and Gracie to Mulder. Whenever she hears her full name, she knows it means business. Mother and daughter watch each other for a moment, both standing their ground.

“No photo without alien!” Iris-Grace says and points to her hat. Scully turns to Mulder, silently asking him for help.

“Hey, Gracie,” he says, “you know, aliens are really shy. They don’t really like to have their pictures taken. So you’d do your alien a favor.”

“This alien likes photos, daddy.” The girl assures him. “I know him.”

“I tried.” Mulder throws his hands up in the air.

“We’re ready whenever you are.” The photographer peeks around the corner and gives them a small smile before she disappears out of sight again.

“Photo, mommy.” Iris-Grace takes Scully’s hand. She should be thankful that her daughter is not throwing a tantrum; she’s heard the horror stories at the kindergarten. None of the children insisted on wearing an alien hat though. All of this is Mulder’s fault, of course. Partly, anyway. She sent him, Jackson and Iris-Grace shopping three weeks ago. Get her a new dress for her birthday party, she told them. Which, in all fairness, they did. The girl is wearing it today; a soft blue dress that brings out the color in her eyes perfectly. But it wasn’t all they brought home. It’s been three weeks of her daughter wearing the alien hat all day long. Scully thinks about it now. The way the girl ran into the house barely seeing anything, because the hat kept falling into her eyes as it was still too big for her head. 'Look! Look!’ she said so excited that she couldn’t stand still, couldn’t stop jumping up and down. It wasn’t until later that night, when Iris-Grace was in bed, the hat sleeping next to her like a faithful stuffed animal, that Mulder told her how Jackson had found the hat. 'Perfect hat for an alien baby,’ Mulder said, love shimmering in his eyes. She sees the scene now, remembers it in vivid, clear colors. She understands it now.

“Are we keeping the hat on after all?” The photographers voice cuts through her memory. Scully startles and Mulder puts his warm hand on her arm. She nods and her daughter grins.

“I’m sure I can-” Mulder says, but Scully stops him.

“Let her wear it, Mulder. She loves that stupid hat.” Now he’s grinning too. They’re a matching set, Mulder and their daughter. Scully watches as the girl follows the photographer’s instructions without complaint. She tilts her head, plays with the camera and smiles, smiles, smiles. Scully feels her eyes fill with tears. Mulder steps closer to her and she lets herself fall against him. He puts his hands on her shoulders, lets her knows he’s there and as much in awe as she is.

How she wishes her mother could see this, experience this with them. Scully knows how proud she’d be of her granddaughter. She’d shower her with so much love. But as Iris-Grace laughs her sweet baby laughter, Scully realizes that her mother is here. Just like her father, like Melissa and Samantha; all the loved ones they’ve lost too soon. She sees them in the girl’s liveliness and in the softness around her eyes. Her mischievous grin, the stubborn chin – those are from Mulder’s side. Their daughter is the accumulation of generations, of love and hope.

“Hey,” Mulder’s lips graze her ear, “don’t start crying now.”

“I wasn’t going to.” But her voice is fragile, so full of emotions.

“Just think of your brother’s reaction when he gets the picture and sees the alien hat.” They both laugh quietly.

“I’m sure he’ll let us know what he thinks.”

“Hm.” Mulder’s voice vibrates against her. “I love you, Scully.” The sentiment isn’t new; after 25 years together, she’s heard it time and again, feels it every day. But his words rush through her veins now, like a drug. “I know this is not… I love you, I love our daughter and our son, who is running late.”

“What?”

“Oh yeah. We thought we’d surprise you, but seeing how you’re ready to fall apart already,” he chuckles, kisses her ear, her temple, “I thought I’d better tell you now. I booked us another shooting. Two actually. One that’s all of us together and one that’s just Jackson. I know, I know he’s no longer a child, but-” Scully doesn’t let him finish. She turns around in his arms, wraps her arms around him and kisses him. His lips taste sweet like coffee with sugar, taste salty like her tears; she’s crying and he’s kissing her back. A loud giggle makes them break apart sooner than either of them wants to. 

“They do that a lot.” Iris-Grace tells the photographers with all the wisdom of her three years and they laugh.

“Thank you, Mulder.” Scully whispers against the corner of his mouth. “And by the way, I love you too.”


End file.
